This Christmas - MerLink
by LadyJosephine24
Summary: Christmas Story... just some fluffy sweet story about Meredith Grey at Christmas dinner at the Jolex loft. Christmas gift for Nini...


This is a Christmas gift for Nini **gilmour34** on Twitter. I know she likes these two a lot so I wrote this for her...

 **This Christmas – MerLink**

* * *

 _Hang all the mistletoe_

 _I'm gonna get to know you better_

 _This Christmas_

* * *

She was smiling as she looked around the crowded loft-space. She had actually been a little surprised that Jo was the one who had ended up deciding to host Christmas for them all. But maybe it made sense, they were pretty stable at the moment, which was what was needed for a Christmas dinner, where so many of the people were at odds with each other one way or another, or at least had a tension among them.

A quick glance in the direction of Jackson and Maggie confirmed that, though they seemed to be doing better again. Maggie had taken her advice and stepped up and decided to be there for Jackson as well as being the one to tell him about Catherine. There still seemed to be a tension between them though, an uneasiness, she hoped time and patience would heal. Jackson would need Maggie for the upcoming months, just like Catherine would need Richard and yet they were another couple that seemed to be doing their best to not show they were awkward around each other as well. She also hoped and wished they would figure out a way to be strong for each other, it would make things easier and yet she knew it would be a fight with two such stubborn people as the couple were.

Then there were Ben and Bailey, Ben wasn't even at the party, and the absence of him was noticeable considering that Tuck was along and yet his stepfather wasn't there. Okay firemen worked on Christmas as well, just like surgeons but when it was a Christmas where Bailey had Tuck, Ben would normally have been around, and if she didn't have Tuck, they would both have been working instead.

Yet, here she was looking tens while faking a smile, the best way Miranda Bailey could. However, Bailey's melancholy was nothing compared to the trio of tension and awkwardness within the room. She had honestly no idea how Teddy had ended up getting invited as well. It would have been awkward enough with just Owen, Leo, Betty and Amelia here, and yet Teddy had gotten herself invited as well. Now there just seemed to be a lot of glancing and tension within the room. Teddy looked sad, honestly, she couldn't blame her, she had finally understood how deep her feelings for Owen ran after the day they spend together a while back. Not that Meredith had been surprised, she had always suspected it, she had even warned Cristina about it once, not that it had mattered much back then, and now, well now she didn't know what it meant. However, she understood Teddy, she had been there, watching the man you loved more than anything else be with another woman and try and make it work there. Owen was looking confused, slightly hurt, angry and frustrated. That had been expected as well, after all Teddy had kept it from him for too long, and he had always wanted to be a father, and now he had suddenly found himself in a situation where he had three children to be a father to, and two women who wanted to be with him and be a family with him. He was angry at Teddy for keeping it from him, and hurt by the betrayal he felt it was, however she noticed he also kept glancing in Teddy's direction, with a look of loss, heartache and pain.

The looks he kept giving Teddy were not lost on Amelia though and she seemed just as confused and sad over it, when she saw it as Owen seemed to be when he was looking at Teddy. Meredith felt with her sister, she really did, however she also felt with Teddy. It was all around complicated.

Then there were herself. She wasn't even sure what to think about her own love life drama. It was a complication, she had not wanted in her life again. She really had thought after Nathan had left and gone to LA with Megan, gotten his miracle dream to come true, that this was it for her, she was over and done at romance. Her try at moving on after Derek had fallen apart after all, and she should just settle and accept to be alone for the rest of her life. But then she had met Nick and he had made her think and feel a sense of hope she hadn't really felt since Derek, a hope that she had been wrong, and she wouldn't be alone forever, that she could have more than she had expected of life at that point. Of course, he lived it Minnesota, so it was close to impossible for something to actually happen. However, it had tempted and teased something in her, something she had finally admitted to herself then Alex got married and was set to possible move away. That maybe she really didn't need to be alone, but could find a partner, someone who would make her laugh and smile, and just be there on the bad days. Someone who would fit into her life and accept that her kids were around, someone they would accept as well. Not to replace Derek in their lives, but someone they at least would like and find friendly and funny to be around.

Okay a large part of it had also to do with her lacking sex-life, but to be fair if that was all she had wanted she would probably have given in and slept with Deluca by now. She had known for months that he was crushing on her, and she had tried to be nice and just friendly to him, hoping he would see that was all it was. Yet that hadn't worked. Sure, she was horny and sex-starved when he pursued her, why she almost considered if it would be worth it, but she also knew it wouldn't in the end. That it would just make a mess of things at work, that he wouldn't have been able to take one time around and leave it at that. Plus, she really was his boss and she was not about to risk something like that.

Then she had gotten stuck in the elevator with him, and she really had wondered if he was following her, and then they had fully gotten stuck and she had considered just saying screw with it and sleep with him after all, but she thankfully hadn't. She was glad she hadn't especially after he kept looking at her with that lost puppy look the following days, and she tried to avoid him, hoping he would soon get over it and focus his attention elsewhere.

She was also bothered by how the elevator part had made her miss her date with Lincoln who had then also taken to avoid her. Not that she could fully blame him, he likely thought she had blown him off and didn't want to have the date after all, which actually wasn't the case. She wasn't fully sure what she felt about him, he was different from Derek, very different. But on the other hand, she was not sure she would even have fallen for Derek if they met today. She probably would have, she hoped she would have, but she wasn't completely sure. She was so different today from what she had been back then.

Okay Lincoln was arrogant like Derek, at least to a degree, and confident, but also funny and he seemed to like kids from the fact that he had cut his hair to make a child with bone cancer smile. But he was also often all joking and seemed so laid back and light hearted. Nathan had been laid back, but he hadn't been lighthearted. He had demons similar to her own, she wasn't sure Lincoln even knew what that meant, at least she hadn't thought so to begin with. But the part with the kid touched something in her, that was sweet and thoughtful in a way she hadn't imagined he would be. Same as how he had actually taken her phone and been fully accepting of being a person she could call if she had an emergency. She had briefly wondered if he knew her emergencies often related to her three kids or to an AC that had stopped working or a tv-cable she couldn't figure out how to set correctly. He might get a surprise if she did call him about that at some point. But who knows maybe he would be up for it, she wouldn't rule it out completely. Even less when she had found out that he was the one who was helping Maggie reheating and cooking some of the food in the loft as she had arrived. Maggie had fried the turkey for them all back in the house and brought it over, but Lincoln apparently was making some of the side dishes already and seemed to now help Maggie with the rest.

What in the world had she gotten herself into when she decided to try and find romance and a partner again? The dating part sucked and felt more than a little crappy. And now she had apparently gotten herself stuck in some kind of love triangle she had forsworn ever to be in again. One where Deluca looked at her with puppy eyes and Lincoln avoided her and she avoided Deluca, it was hard to be at work under circumstances like that. But she had no real idea what to do instead.

"Up Mamma!" She felt Ellis pull at skirt and sighed before she bended and picked her youngest up and settled her on her hip.

"Hey baby… are you hungry?" She asked her little girl as she kissed the blond bouncing curls and got a small nod in return.

"Good, let us hope dinner is almost ready. Where is Zola and Bailey?" She asked her and got a shrug before she pointed her hand in direction of her siblings who were both playing with Alex running around the Christmas tree. Meredith chuckled a little, unable to keep herself from smiling. At least some were having fun and not noticing the tension hanging in the air, though Zola probably had noticed it and just decided to make the best of it after all. Her oldest was sometimes too smart for words, and certainly too smart for her young age.

"Who is this little angel?" His voice made her stiffen right away before she turned to face him. It seemed like he had given up trying to avoid her after all. She felt a sense of relief wash over her, a bit unsure why she actually felt it. She gave him a small smile.

"Ellis can you say hi to Dr. Lincoln?" She asked, her baby who glanced shyly at Lincoln before burying her face into Meredith's shoulder again. She sighed over her daughter's behavior. She was never easy to predict when it came to strangers. At least not to begin with. One would have thought she would be easy about it with how many people were in and out of the house, and with how close she was to both Amelia and Maggie as well, but it wasn't the case. She did feel how she turned her face a little and a quick glance down confirmed what Meredith thought might be going on. Her daughter was only pretending to hide in her shoulder while she actually studied the new person in front of her.

"Hi, Ellis, the Angel. I am Link, though your mother insists on calling me that ridiculous long name." He grinned at her youngest daughter and Meredith felt her mouth widen in a boarder smile.

"Hi…" Her youngest lifted her hand a little and waved shyly before hiding against Meredith once more, much to Lincoln's amusement if she was to judge how he seemed to be grinning.

"You look a lot like your mother, did you know that Angel?" He grinned at Ellis who glanced over at him again and Meredith saw how she shook her head slowly.

"Well you do. Are you hungry?" He asked, and this time he got a nod right away.

"Yeah, it is a bit later than usual for her dinner time. Not that they haven't gotten dinner late before. Ellis though was the one who it bothered the most. Meredith thought it might be her age, but the two others never really had a similar period, not even when they were younger, or at least not while they were Ellis age, while they were still babies, it was different." Meredith explained, though she felt like she was rambling more than explaining. He on the other hand just waved it off.

"Well Angle I heard you and your brother and sister would be at the dinner tonight, and I remembered how I was not always fond of the food that was served at parties like this, so I made something I thought you might find funny to eat and I just saw Pierce, I mean your Aunt Maggie take it out from the oven, maybe you want to take a look?" He asked, and Meredith's eyes widened in surprise. Her children were actually not particular picky eaters, but to make sure there would be something for them at the dinner was a nice thought, and she gave him a smile in appreciation.

"Okay… Mamma down!" Her youngest apparently liked the idea as well, as she was now pulling at her arm and squirming clearly trying to be put down once more. The second Meredith actually sat her down she ran towards Maggie, who handed her what looked like some kind of bread roll, but Meredith wasn't sure.

"What did you make?" She asked and nodded towards the food.

"Santa pizza bread rolls. I mean most like pizza, right?" He answered, and Meredith nodded as she smiled.

"That sounds delicious. Maybe I should skip the turkey as well." She grinned at him and he chuckled back.

"Well there should be enough for you if you chose to do so. Otherwise you can bring the rest home and use them for lunch or something." He offered, and she blinked in surprise.

"Wow, umm thanks… it isn't needed though, I mean as you said most like pizza, so I am sure you would prefer to eat them yourself instead." She mumbled unsure how to take his offer but only got a shake of his head.

"I made them for your children so really I mean it when I say you can get the rest to take home." He insisted, and she nodded unsure what to do otherwise. She was not sure how to really adjust to the thought that he had cooked special food after hearing that her kids would be joining them for the Christmas dinner, especially since she wasn't the one who had told him about her children.

"Thanks… I guess… it is very kind of you!" She offered in response, as she tried to think of something better to say.

"It wasn't a problem, I was cooking anyway. And I don't think kids should be forced to eat something they don't like at Christmas, it would sort of suck, right? Christmas should be a time where they are getting things they like. She is cute, your youngest." He added the last part and Meredith smiled gently and nodded.

"She is my baby, even if she isn't really a baby anymore. Zola is my smart and mature daughter, my daughter who is wise beyond her years. Bailey is my happy child, the calm one, and the thoughtful one, but Ellis is my baby." She explained softly, and he grinned at her.

"They mean a lot to you." He offered, and she nodded again.

"They do, they mean the world to me." She agreed and got another grin.

"That is cool. They seem great. I mean I haven't talked to the other two yet, but they look like they are having fun and seems like happy children." He answered, and she sighed.

"They generally are happy children, which is surprising considering how much they have gone through in their lives. What about you? Any children or pets?" She hurried to add as she realized she was about to have opened herself up a bit more than she liked.

"Not yet, I like kids, hope to have some around one day, my own, fostered, or adopted kids. It doesn't really matter, but I like the idea of being around them. I almost went on to specialize further in Pediatric Orthopedic, I still consider doing so some day. Why I liked developing the prosthetic robot arms and legs for children, with Koracik. Even if the cases are harder, the losses felt deeper. Still when you get it right, you know it is small humans with their whole lives ahead of them. I like that." He added, and she smiled at his explanation.

"That is a pretty nice way to look at it." She answered and got a shrug from him.

"Maybe, might be because I almost didn't have a future myself at that age. But surgeons and doctors made sure I did." He sighed, and she studied him closer, his answer had surprised her. He had been sick? And from the sound of it dying?

"What happened if I may ask?" She couldn't help her curiosity and got a sigh from him.

"I had a tumor on my femur, a telangiectatic subtype of osteosarcoma it was caught rather late." He offered, and Meredith blinked in shock, she had not seen that coming at all.

"But… you beat it? No further issues?" She asked, and he shook his head.

"I mean I once in a while has a check up test done and blood count to be sure. But otherwise completely clean bill. The doctors worked hard, and it saved my life. Why it feels so good when I manage to save a child's life." He explained, and she smiled a little and nodded.

"Was that what made you pick medicine and chose to be an orthopedic surgeon?" She wondered out loud, hoping it wasn't too pushy.

"Yeah… I mean it was an ortho surgeon who became my real life, hero when he saved my life, by removing the tumor and making sure I still had a fully functioning arm and hand; One I could use to save other lives with. It was a rather simple choice after. What about you? What made you pick surgery?" He asked, and she shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't think there were ever another option for me, not really. Not with the mother I grew up with. It was only about which area I wanted to go into, in the end I also followed her footsteps there." She offered as the kids called to her yelling it was time to eat.

"We should go eat." She added and gave him a nod, but before she could actually manage to even take a single step, he had caught hold of her elbow, and she stared confused at him.

"What are you…" She didn't get to finish asking what he was doing before she realized his face was way closer to hers than it had been, and his breath was warm and smelled a little of wine. That was what she registered before his pillowed lips had brushed over hers in a soft kiss. It was brief, and she hardly managed to react before he had pulled back for a second. He moved his head upwards and she followed his eyes to see what he was hinting at. She felt herself blushing the second she noticed the spring of mistletoe that hung above her head. Of course, she had ended up right under that. She didn't manage to really think more of it, before he had kissed her gently once more on the lips, and this time he didn't pull back right away, and she hesitated for a second before she leaned a little bit into it and returned the pressure for a moment before she pulled back.

"Please, tell me you originally didn't come over here to do that?" She asked as she couldn't help wondering if that had been his intention all along. He gave her a cheeky grin.

"I could but that would be a lie. I did want to let your kid know there were some food ready as well, but I had spotted where you were standing, and since I still haven't gotten the rain check on the drinks, we agreed on, I had to grab this chance while I could." He smiled at her and she shook her head and rolled her eyes a little.

"Well I guess I should just be thankful you waited until my children were out of sight. I don't want them to be confused. And that goes for talking about us having drinks as well." She answered him, and he nodded.

"I had figured out that you would probably prefer that. But you still owe, me the chance to go out for a drink with you, Meredith!" He stated, and she felt her lips twist in a small smile over his persistence.

"Okay, drinks. But for now, I am starving so cut the flirting and the invitations for now, while my children are within reach." She added and gave him a pointed look and he grinned at nodded.

"I figured, even if I can't promise what I will do if you end up under other mistletoes. I have to try and convince you that I am a good option some way." He joked, and she tilted her head.

"Honestly? You already won a few points with the Santa pizza rolls. That was a better move than the mistletoe." She offered before she winked teasingly at him and made her way over to the table.

Maybe dating and moving on wasn't quit as hopeless as she often thought.


End file.
